Daniel Penny was found not guilty by a jury Monday of criminal homicide in the death of Jordan Neely.
The jury deliberated for more than 24 hours over five days before reaching its verdict.
As soon as the verdict was read, the verdict broke out amid applause and jeers.
Neely’s father angrily cursed her shortly after the verdict and was forcibly removed from the courtroom by a judge. Others in the gallery screamed, and one woman broke down in tears.
“It’s a small world, mate,” shouted a man.
“There is no racist justice in this f—— country,” said another.
Black Lives Matter NY Greater co-founder Chivona Newsome rallies outside Manhattan Criminal Court as they await Daniel Penny’s arraignment on December 9, 2024 in New York City.
Alex Kent/Getty Images
Penny, leaving the courtroom, gave a brief smile before returning to her stony-faced stance. His lawyers hugged each other as they sat at the bar table.
The jury in Penny’s trial continued to deliberate Monday on whether he committed criminally negligent homicide. he put Neely in a chokehold last year in a subway car, after being a jury is locked in a more serious charge in the last week of the murder.
At the request of prosecutors Friday, Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed the second-degree murder charge – which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years – and directed the jury to consider the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which carries a maximum of four years. the sentence Neither crime has a minimum sentence. Penny pleaded not guilty to both charges.
“What that means is you’re now free to consider count two. Whether that makes a difference or not, I have no idea,” Wiley said before sending the jury home for the weekend.
Prosecutors say Penny killed Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who had previously been a Michael Jackson impersonator, when he put Neely in a six-minute chokehold in a subway car in May 2023, holding Neely for at least 51 years. seconds after his body went limp. Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran argued that Penny knew her actions could kill Neely, but held on to him “far too long” and “didn’t know his humanity.”
Daniel Penny walks out of Manhattan Criminal Court as a jury continues to deliberate in the 2023 New York subway car trial of Jordan Neely, a homeless man, on charges of first-degree murder and criminally negligent homicide. York, 9 December 2024.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
The city medical examiner concluded that Penny’s suffocation killed Neely. The defense argued that Neely died from a genetic condition and the synthetic marijuana found in his system.
Defense lawyer Steven Raiser said Penny acted to “save” subway passengers from a “violent and desperate” Neely who was behaving erratically and “scared the living daylights out of everyone.” Raiser argued that Neely was struggling, and Penny continued to hold her because she was afraid she would break free, even though she had no intention of killing Neely.
Wiley denied a motion for a new trial Monday morning by Penny’s defense attorneys, arguing that dropping the manslaughter charge would affect the jury’s verdict.
“There is no way to cure the legal error that we believe occurred so strongly on Friday, and we are renewing our motion for mistrial in the remaining two cases,” said Thomas Kenniff, who said the dismissal could result in a “coercive judgment.” .”
Wiley disagreed, immediately denying the motion as he did Friday when the defense failed to argue twice.
To avoid the possibility of influencing the jury, Wiley suggested giving the jury a new instruction, specifically stating that the jury “is not directing you to a particular verdict.”
Wiley also instructed the jury to ignore chants from protesters outside the courthouse, including “Justice Jordan Neely,” “Daniel Penny subway stranger” and “If we don’t get justice, they won’t get peace.” “- The defense team refused because they could pay more attention to the chants.
For now, the chants have subsided, and are no longer heard in the courts. If they do reopen, Judge Wiley said he would consider giving an instruction or moving the jury to another deliberation room.
Protesters from opposing sides rally outside the Manhattan Criminal Court as they await the arrival of Daniel Penny for trial, December 9, 2024, in New York.
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Last week, the jury spent more than 23 hours over four days deliberating whether Penny, a 26-year-old former marine and architecture student, had committed second-degree murder, before repeatedly declaring they could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Wiley eventually granted the prosecutor’s motion to dismiss the first count, while Penny’s defense attorneys pushed for a mistrial, arguing that continued deliberations could lead to a “coercive or compromised verdict,” giving the jury “elbow” to convict on the lesser charge.
Daniel Penny, who is on trial in the death of Jordan Neely, enters the courtroom as closing arguments begin in his trial, Dec. 2, 2024, in New York.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Manslaughter would have required proving that Penny acted recklessly and that a reasonable person was grossly deviant in conduct, while proving criminally negligent homicide requires the jury to be convinced that Penny engaged in “culpable conduct” beyond its reasonable doubt. death
Outside the courthouse, protesters and counter-protesters have gathered, chants of “say her name” can be faintly heard from the 13th floor courthouse. When Penny entered court this morning, she was met with competing cries of “murderer” and “not guilty.”
